Historic masonry has a rich and colorful history making it a treasured part in our society. To preserve and protect this heritage, adequate moisture control, retrofit, and restauration strategies are required. However, due to the large range of material properties inherent to historic brickwork, a single uniform renovation strategy appears impossible. To describe similarity in brickwork, the existing clustering approach developed by Zhao was evaluated. The idea is that different types of bricks with similar properties can be represented by a single representative brick for that cluster, for example, when conducting hygrothermal simulations. It could help improve existing retrofit practice by reducing characterization processes and minimizing time-consuming laboratory measuring tests. However, in this paper the approach presented by Zhao is questioned since the clustering is solely based on an equal impact of the material properties and the response behavior and associated degradation risks are neglected. The aim of this paper was twofold. Firstly, similarity in brickwork obtained by clustering according to Zhao was evaluated by means of hygrothermal simulations to see whether bricks in the same cluster show similar degradation risks. Zhao’s clustering provides homogenous clusters regarding physical material properties, but significant variation was found in degradation risks for different bricks within the same cluster. Secondly, a methodology is presented to translate similarities in degradation profiles toward similarities in material properties. Sensitivity analyses were used to study the response behavior based on three degradations risks: mold growth, wood rot, and frost damage. Finally, an overall clustering scheme was generated for brickwork, based on classification trees for different degradation phenomena.
The attention for energy performant buildings with a low environmental impact has been growing over the years and as a result, the use of biobased insulation materials as well as wood frame constructions has become more and more prevalent in Belgium and Europe. This research assesses the hygrothermal behavior of bio-based insulation materials, used in wood frame walls. The study concentrates on their durability and thermal performance, when exposed to unintended moisture sources. Two different leakages are looked at: one originating from imperfections in the weathering sealant at the exterior, and a second is introduced due to insufficient air tightness at the interior, causing infiltration of humid indoor air into the wall system and the occurrence of interstitial condensation. Primarily results show the dominant impact of the ventilation rate in the cavity between the masonry outer leaf and the wood frame wall, on the durability and the thermal performance of the structure. Also, there is higher negative impact by exterior leakages on highly absorptive bio-based insulation material compared to the traditional mineral wool setup. Peer-review under the responsibility of the organizing committee of the ICMB21.
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